Archive for May, 2008

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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I want to be a part of it, New York, New York!

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

It’s been a while since my last post and there’s a lot to cover so I’m only going to go over the highlights. Training around the following items has been the usual affair – drilling the basics, practising the more sensitive side of BJJ with Dean T (had some useful pointers on holding posture in guard from Dean the other week), Fridays at Tonbridge – really enjoying the Friday format and the variety of training partners there.

On to the main events:

Rodrigo Medeiros Session – Carlson Gracie BJJ Revolution Team, 8th May 2008, Tonbridge

Rodrigo Medeiros is a 4th (?) Dan Black Belt under the late Carlson Gracie and several times champion at the Pan-Ams along with a list of numerous other accomplishments. He ran this session as he would a session at his own gym in the US and was joined by one of his purple belts who had just won the purple no-gi World title. The session was well attended by Carlson’s guys from all over as well as those from other schools (me, Si and Big Dean from Rickson’s) and it was also good to see Simon Hayes sporting his new black belt (many congratulations) and Dickie Martin there too. It was the first time I’ve met Simon, having heard a lot about him and read some great stories from him on the EFN forums. Seems like a great guy and clearly passionate about what he does – a great ambassador for the sport and a great ally for all at Tonbridge. I’ve also just heard that since that session, Dickie has also been promoted – really well deserved!

The session revolved around working the open guard – taking up grips, movement, using the legs to defend. A memorable drill from this section was just using the legs. You partner up, one guy standing, the other on his back. To start, both guys put their hands in their belts so that both partners are reliant on their legs to pass/defend. Stage 2, the standing partner removes one hand, stage 3, the guy on his back removes one hand and so on until both partners have full use of both hands and legs. Each “bout” was 2/3 mins long. It was a great cardio drill as well as really helping to understand the movement required in open guard – good fun too.

Here’s a film clip of this exercise:

The latter part of the session looked at various leg hooks in combinations and using these to sweep from open guard. It’s hard for me to remember all of these now, but one key thing that stuck was that Rodrigo always hooked his opponent’s heel with his hand before doing anything else – really important. We went on to look at an Omaplata from open guard – I really liked this move and the combinations off of the Omoplata were good too.

Here’s another clip:

The session ended in usual style with a bit of rolling. In keeping with the stuff we’ve been doing lately, I tried to maintain my defensive sphere and work off of any imbalances of my opponent – all to good effect I’m very pleased to say.

The session was great – a good energy in the room and it was impressive and inspiring to see a guy of Rodrigo’s calibre in action. A really engaging, genuine guy who’s been around with some of the best in the world.

Here’s a few photos of the session:

US Trip – NYC and Long Island, USA, 18th May to 25th May 2008

As I type this, I’ve just gotten back from the US after a week’s break with my family, staying with my Brother in law on Long Island. With the trip planned, I also made plans to fit in a decent chunk of training – well, it’d be rude not to wouldn’t it?!

Renzo Gracie’s Academy – NYC

Me at Renzo Gracie’s Academy NYC

I trained here on Tuesday and Thursday, both early afternoon (purple belt) sessions. I knew I’d be in for a good time here…an instructor’s personality is a strong influence on the students and as Renzo is renowned as a happy, approachable guy, it was likely his students would be too. I’d also had a reply from Rolles Gracie saying that the gym was my “home” whilst in NYC which was a really nice thing to say. I met Rolles (a giant) and his persona matches his correspondence – a really nice guy, very laid back.

Both sessions were run by John Danaher (New Zealand John) and were attended by mostly Blue Belts, a few purples and the odd Brown and some senior white belts. The sessions followed the format; Take downs, technique on the ground, sparring. The sessions were very relaxed and the tuition by John was first class – very methodical, technical and delivered in an easy to follow “instruction manual” style (John co-wrote the book “Mastering Jujitsu” with Renzo).

Here’s what I remember:

Session 1

Take down: Change to cross grip, break opponent’s balance step in, hook heel with own leading foot through centre, sweep or hook foot with hand if opponent steps up, take down. Knee over opponent, take cross side, finish with cross collar choke.

Take down as above but finish collar choke across throat sprawling hips downwards.

Take down as above, draw up opponent’s upper arm, move round head(keep shoulder on opponent’s hip to pin) and finish with arm bar.

Session 2

Mirror opponent’s grip, step in to fake hip throw, step round back, block foot and pull opponent down finish with arm lock, kimura or armbar.

Similar to above – step in, block furthest foot (important to keep leg straight to prevent opponent landing on it.

From butterfly guard to choke defending opponent – begin choke, turtle backwards, project legs upwards to force opponent’s hands down, roll forward to execute choke fully.

Rolling at both sessions was a similar affair – three or four 6 minute bouts with a rotation of opponents. Considering I was rolling mainly with Blue belts, I fared pretty well, submitting all of my opponents except one that got promoted to Purple belt at the end of the session – he was all over me like a rash so I can more than live with that. I even got a cross collar choke on which I was really pleased with – text book even – I always struggle to stay mounted when attempting that. The area I struggled most was the stand up – unfamiliar territory – I did OK, but never got any take downs and always lost out at this point. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my basics worked for me and I was also impressed by how the guys there roll – very gentle…maybe a mark of how long some of them have been training but more likely it stems from the ethos of Renzo and his team of instructors. I was expecting a lot more of a “tough guy” approach given Renzo’s MMA links and the wrestling background a lot of US guys have, but it was all cool.

Training at Renzo’s was excellent – highly recommended. It’s steep at $40 a session, but with the facilities they’ve got that set the standard for BJJ gyms and instruction of the quality that I had, it’s well worth it. Friendly guys and great training.

Matt Serra’s Academy – East Meadow Long Island

Me outside Matt Serra’s East Meadow Academy

I trained here on Wednesday evening and Saturday around lunchtime (white belt sessions). The sessions were led by purple belts – didn’t get the guys name on Wednesday, but Saturday was run by Billy Hofacker, the gym manager. Both session ran the same format; warm up technique, positional training/sparring. Wednesday’s session looked at defending a guard pass from the open guard, which was a useful drill and the sparring at the end was positional starting with the position we had been training. Saturday’s session was much more my sort of thing – Billy took us through a few different submissions from your opponent being on all fours in front of you. Very good, practical stuff that I know I can use.

Me and Billy Hofacker, Academy Manager

Here’s what I remember from the second session:

- Arm drag to take back
- Arm drag, step round for take down from back
- Arm drag to pull down
- Guillotine position grab posting arm and roll opponent, take up slack on gi with free hand, grab gi, sit and pull for choke
- Gullotine, step up, sit back and apply.

The rolling was good – the styles between guys was very different – the younger guys were all gritted teeth and attack at all costs, whereas the older guys fought a bit smarter and softer. Again, I sub’d all of my opponents, but to be fair, I think all of them had been training a lot less time than me. A great workout and again, really friendly guys. Thanks again to Billy – he really made me feel welcome and took the time to make sure I enjoyed my sessions.

The sessions cost $25 each. The facilties were, again, very good and I’d recommend it to anyone who can get to, or who is staying on Long Island.

The icing on the cake for me was that, after the session, Matt Serra turned up to take a no-gi session fro his top guys. What a nice, funny guy. He took about 5 minutes to chat to me, asking about where I trained, how long etc, how my stay on Long Island was (he’s a proud Long Islander) – so genuine and you’ll see from this photo, you can’t help but be happy around a guy like him. Really great – a true champion.

Me and Matt Serra – what a nice guy!

My time in the US was short but I made good use of it and bring back a handful of new techniques, but more importantly a great experience and memories (oh, and a couple of great t shirts). If you’re going over that way, be sure to take your Gi and go train – you won’t regret it. Everyone I met was really friendly, one or two white belts (I have to say the younger guys) saw my white belt and were a little patronising (I’m sure they were just trying to be helpful), but their underestimation ended when we started rolling and then they were genuinely interested to ask about where I train etc etc so no offence – I’m sure it’s the same any club you go to until guys know where you’re at.

It was all great – thanks to everyone I met and trained with – it’s great to know that regardless of club or association, BJJ is just one big family with the common bond of good training and friendship.

At the end of it all, it was still a family trip and I had a great time in the US – many thanks to Tammy and Matthew for putting us up and giving us lifts – we had a great time – great memories.

Me and the family – what a great trip!

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: EliteXC Preview, Kimbo Slice, James Thompson, Frank Shamrock, Gus Johnson, Gary Shaw

Monday, May 26th, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the CBS and EliteXC Saturday Night Fights card, which takes place this Saturday, May 31, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and will be shown live in the U.S. on CBS.

On a media conference call, we spoke with the main eventers, heavyweights Kimbo Slice and James Thompson, about their upcoming fight. We also spoke with play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson and EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw.

And, in a lengthy interview, we spoke with mixed martial arts legend Frank Shamrock, who will be an analyst on this CBS telecast, both about this show and his own future fighting plans.

We also comment on the level of striking in the latest UFC show, and the mixed victory in the restoration of the Arizona State University wrestling program, primarily through private contributions.

I was also a guest on the latest edition of Carson’s Corner, which can be heard here .

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Matt Lindland, Fabio “Negao” Nascimento, Ben Rothwell, Affliction Banned

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the “Affliction Banned” mixed martial arts card, which will be held Saturday, July 19, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and shown in the U.S. on pay-per-view.

At a New York news conference this past Thursday, we spoke with many of the fighters who will appear on this show. We interviewed the top heavyweight and pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, and his opponent, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. We spoke with another former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, and his opponent, Pedro Rizzo, who fight in a rematch of their 2001 bout, which was won by Rizzo by knockout. We spoke with one of the top middleweights in the world, Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling silver medalist Matt Lindland, and his opponent, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Fabio “Negao” Nascimento. And we spoke with heavyweight star Ben Rothwell, who faces an opponent to be announced shortly.

As always, these are No Holds Barred interviews, covering not only MMA, but collegiate and catch wrestling, the politics of the combat sports, and the issues facing MMA fighters such as the restrictive and onerous contracts from companies such as the UFC.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: Warrior Culture, Country Music and MMA, Pay-Per-View Model, IFL, Ryan Schultz, Dan Miller, Roy Nelson

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by discussing the beating received this past Friday by former Chris Byrd in his ESPN2 bout with Shaun George. Byrd, a former heavyweight champion, was fighting at light heavyweight, and was stopped in the ninth round after looking drained and getting battered throughout the fight.

We next focus on some important correspondence from a listener who understands the connection between the combat sports, the need for a warrior culture by people who are oppressed and downtrodden, and life in general.

Among the other issues discussed are the appearance of EliteXC fighter Kimbo Slice on the Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS, the flaws in the pay-per-view model for the combat sports, and what the International Fight League needs to do to improve their fortunes.

Next, we speak with the three IFL fighters who were victorious in their championship fights this past Friday, May 16, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. They are lightweight champion Ryan Schultz, who won a unanimous decision over Deividas Taurosevicius, to retain his belt; Dan Miller, who captured the middleweight belt with a first-round kneebar submission over Ryan McGivern; and Roy Nelson, who retained his heavyweight title with a first-round TKO over Brad Imes.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: Save Arizona State Wrestling, Jeffrey Siegel of ESPN, EliteXC Fighters Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, Gina Carano, Kaitlin Young

Friday, May 16th, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by discussing the outrageous decision by Arizona State University to close down, without any notice, its storied wrestling program. A web site has been set up as part of a campaign to save Arizona State University wrestling .

Next, we speak with Jeffrey Siegel, senior vice president, specialized sales and marketing, of ESPN. We discuss the importance of the combat sports of boxing, mixed martial arts, and wrestling to the ESPN group of networks.

Preparations for the first “CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights”, which air Saturday, May 31, 9-11 PM ET/PT, are continuing. This event will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and will be first primetime major network broadcast of a mixed martial arts event in America.

On a media conference call this week, we spoke with Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young, who will be facing each other in a women’s 140-pound fight. We spoke them, as well as EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, about this fight and the importance of women competing in mixed martial arts.

On another media conference call, we spoke with EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Scott Smith, who have a title fight on this card.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

YAMMA Pit Fighting. The producers of the original UFC and Live Nation, worldwide leaders in live entertainment, present YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts. On the streets, it’s against the law. In the pit, it IS the law.

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: Save Arizona State Wrestling, Jeffrey Siegel of ESPN, EliteXC Fighters Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, Gina Carano, Kaitlin Young

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

On another media conference call, we spoke with EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler and challenger Scott Smith, who have a title fight on this card.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: State of MMA, Affliction, IFL

Saturday, May 10th, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman focuses on several key issues regarding the state of mixed martial arts. Among the many topics discussed are the new Affliction promotion and the numerous challenges they are facing, the troubled pay-per-view model, and the recent announcement of major changes for the International Fight League (IFL).

We also hear comments by IFL CEO Jay Larkin and VP of Fighter Relations Bas Rutten on a media conference call this past week, and discuss with them the need for mixed martial arts promoters to co-promote events.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Tags: BJJ, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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No Holds Barred: Bas Rutten, Junior Witter, Timothy Bradley

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts legend and former King of Pancrase and UFC heavyweight champion, Bas Rutten.

Amongst his numerous duties in many areas of MMA, Bas is training Kimbo Slice, AKA Kevin Ferguson, at his gym in Thousand Oaks, Calif., for Kimbo’s May 31 fight against James Thompson on the EliteXC card at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This show will be broadcast on CBS, the first live, prime time MMA telecast on a major American broadcast network.

In a lengthy interview, Bas discusses his evaluation of Kimbo as a fighter, where Kimbo stands in only his third professional fight, and what his potential is. He also answers some of the critics of Kimbo. In addition, Bas fills us in on some of his other activities in his increasingly busy schedule.

Plus, we offer a preview of the fight between WBC super lightweight champion Junior Witter (36-1-1, 21 KOs) and top contender Timothy Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs), which takes place this Saturday, May 10, at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England. This fight will be telecast in the U.S. on Showtime on a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation.

We spoke with both Junior Witter and Timothy Bradley on a media conference call.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called “The Heist”, by musician Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Challenge, shaking up the mixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year. For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com.

BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman